waz
ADMINISTRATOR
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2006
- Messages
- 21,159
- Reaction score
- 91
- Country
- Location
Team Great Britain takes three golds today!
100m breaststroke
Adam Peaty wrote his name into the history books once again as he powered to 100m breaststroke gold in Tokyo to become the first British swimmer to defend an Olympic title.
The world record holder blew away the competition to win Britain's first gold medal of the Games.
From start to finish it was a perfectly executed swim by Peaty as he finished in a time of 57.37 seconds, six tenths clear of the field.
Netherlands' Arno Kamminga, the only man other than Peaty to ever go under 58 seconds, took the silver medal while the bronze medal went to Nicolo Martinenghi of Italy. GB's James Wilby finished fifth.
With victory confirmed, Peaty slapped the water and shouted "come on" as he once again left his rivals wondering what it will take to beat him.
"It means the world to me," the 26-year-old, who has recorded the 16 fastest times in the event, told BBC Sport. "It is not about who is the best all year round, it is who is the best on the day. It is about who is adaptable and who wants it more.
"When it comes down to it I am not racing for a time, I am racing myself.
"I want to say thank you to my family, my gorgeous partner and gorgeous son. This victory wasn't mine, it was the British team's and my family and friends'. I am just so relieved."
Adam Peaty: Watch emotional interview with Team GB gold medal winner at Tokyo Olympics
Victory in Tokyo largely seemed inevitable for Peaty given no-one has come close to him in recent years.
He has not lost over this distance in more than seven years and, in addition to his gold in Rio five years ago, Peaty has won the 100m breaststroke at the last three World Championships, has broken the world record five times and is the only man to have ever gone under 57 seconds.
With this title secured, Peaty will have the chance to add further medals to his haul when he competes in the men's 4x100m medley relay and, potentially, the mixed 4x100m medley relay, with the heats for those getting under way later this week.
More history made, sporting immortality next?
Rewriting history is nothing new for Peaty, and from his perspective this latest success will simply be another step on the path towards sporting immortality.
In December last year, Peaty spoke about his ambition of achieving Project Immortal - a theoretical swim he described so good as to be almost inhuman and one that will never be beaten.
This was not that swim. Despite his dominance, it was not the fastest time he has managed before, but everything points towards that being achieved one day, especially given that Peaty appears to have got stronger despite life changing for him away from the pool.
There has, of course, been the coronavirus pandemic that resulted in this Olympics being delayed a year, but rather than viewing a year of lockdowns as a wasted year in his career, Peaty instead believes it has only helped him to find a new level.
"The lockdown last year gave me that kind of a second wind," he said in a recent interview. "I always felt like I was charging, charging, charging, but now I can switch off very easily."
Peaty also became a dad in 2020, something he believes has made him more mature and given him a new perspective on life.
"It has given him more motivation - not that he needed it anyway," double Olympic gold-medal winning swimmer Rebecca Adlington told BBC Sport. "He seems in a happy place and more relaxed and confident.
"He is just phenomenal. We aren't going to see many Adam Peatys in my lifetime."
Scott and Dean into the final
Peaty was not the only Briton in the pool on Monday as compatriots Duncan Scott and Tom Dean both progressed to the men's 200m freestyle final. Scott finished fastest in the semi-final with a time of 1:44.60, while Dean was fourth.
Diving pairs
Tom Daley ended his long wait for an Olympic gold medal with a sublime display alongside Matty Lee in a nerve-filled men's synchronised 10m platform event at Tokyo 2020.
In a nail-biting finale, the British pair watched on as Cao Yuan and Chen Aisen conducted their final dive and broke into wild celebrations when it became clear they had ended China's golden grip on the event, dating back to 2000.
For Daley - now 27 - it marks a first gold medal at his fourth Olympic Games and he wept with joy on the podium, while Lee - four years his junior - can contemplate gold at the first time of asking.
"I still can't honestly believe what is happening," Daley told BBC Sport. "That moment, being about to be announced as Olympic champions, I was gone. I was blubbering."
The pair dived impeccably throughout, moving top of the leaderboard after four dives, before going on to expertly handle nerves and pressure in their final two routines.
The British duo's total score of 471.81 left China's Cao and Chen with too much to do and when their tally of 470.58 appeared on the giant screen, Daley, Lee, their coaches and a score of team-mates could not hide their emotions.
Mountain biking.
Tom Pidcock won Great Britain's third Olympic gold on Monday with a hugely impressive and dominant performance in the men's mountain bike cross-country race in Tokyo.
The 21-year-old from Leeds moved to the front midway through and never let go of the lead as he finished ahead of Swiss world number one Mathias Flueckiger and David Valero of Spain to take Britain's first gold in the sport.
Pidcock prepared for Tokyo's soaring temperatures by training in a heated tent at home and that paid off as he handled the punishing course and conditions far better than the field, finishing 20 seconds clear.
Such was his dominance that Pidcock was able to unfurl a union jack and wave it as he crossed the finish line.
When asked how it felt to win gold, Pidcock told Eurosport: "Not real really.
"It's pretty crazy that I became an Olympian and I was trying to tell myself at the start of the race it's special just to be here."
His gold follows those won on Monday by Adam Peaty in 100m breaststroke and Tom Daley and Matty Lee in men's synchronised 10m platform.
Pidcock's win comes two months after he broke his collarbone while training. Despite needing surgery, the Yorkshireman was determined to be fit for the Olympics and was back on his bike just six days later, confidently declaring that he would win in Tokyo.
That self-assurance was ultimately well placed as he added an Olympic title to a long and diverse list of accolades, having won world titles in cyclo-cross, road and mountain bike events at under-23 level.
"I haven't done a good race since [the injury]," Pidcock added. "I've trained really hard, I knew I was in great shape but there's always doubt when I haven't performed in a race.
"But once the race started, I knew I was in a good place. The heat, I mean, obviously I didn't feel good but everyone just told me no-one will feel good."
www.bbc.co.uk
100m breaststroke
Adam Peaty wrote his name into the history books once again as he powered to 100m breaststroke gold in Tokyo to become the first British swimmer to defend an Olympic title.
The world record holder blew away the competition to win Britain's first gold medal of the Games.
From start to finish it was a perfectly executed swim by Peaty as he finished in a time of 57.37 seconds, six tenths clear of the field.
Netherlands' Arno Kamminga, the only man other than Peaty to ever go under 58 seconds, took the silver medal while the bronze medal went to Nicolo Martinenghi of Italy. GB's James Wilby finished fifth.
With victory confirmed, Peaty slapped the water and shouted "come on" as he once again left his rivals wondering what it will take to beat him.
"It means the world to me," the 26-year-old, who has recorded the 16 fastest times in the event, told BBC Sport. "It is not about who is the best all year round, it is who is the best on the day. It is about who is adaptable and who wants it more.
"When it comes down to it I am not racing for a time, I am racing myself.
"I want to say thank you to my family, my gorgeous partner and gorgeous son. This victory wasn't mine, it was the British team's and my family and friends'. I am just so relieved."
Adam Peaty: Watch emotional interview with Team GB gold medal winner at Tokyo Olympics
Victory in Tokyo largely seemed inevitable for Peaty given no-one has come close to him in recent years.
He has not lost over this distance in more than seven years and, in addition to his gold in Rio five years ago, Peaty has won the 100m breaststroke at the last three World Championships, has broken the world record five times and is the only man to have ever gone under 57 seconds.
With this title secured, Peaty will have the chance to add further medals to his haul when he competes in the men's 4x100m medley relay and, potentially, the mixed 4x100m medley relay, with the heats for those getting under way later this week.
More history made, sporting immortality next?
Rewriting history is nothing new for Peaty, and from his perspective this latest success will simply be another step on the path towards sporting immortality.
In December last year, Peaty spoke about his ambition of achieving Project Immortal - a theoretical swim he described so good as to be almost inhuman and one that will never be beaten.
This was not that swim. Despite his dominance, it was not the fastest time he has managed before, but everything points towards that being achieved one day, especially given that Peaty appears to have got stronger despite life changing for him away from the pool.
There has, of course, been the coronavirus pandemic that resulted in this Olympics being delayed a year, but rather than viewing a year of lockdowns as a wasted year in his career, Peaty instead believes it has only helped him to find a new level.
"The lockdown last year gave me that kind of a second wind," he said in a recent interview. "I always felt like I was charging, charging, charging, but now I can switch off very easily."
Peaty also became a dad in 2020, something he believes has made him more mature and given him a new perspective on life.
"It has given him more motivation - not that he needed it anyway," double Olympic gold-medal winning swimmer Rebecca Adlington told BBC Sport. "He seems in a happy place and more relaxed and confident.
"He is just phenomenal. We aren't going to see many Adam Peatys in my lifetime."
Scott and Dean into the final
Peaty was not the only Briton in the pool on Monday as compatriots Duncan Scott and Tom Dean both progressed to the men's 200m freestyle final. Scott finished fastest in the semi-final with a time of 1:44.60, while Dean was fourth.
Diving pairs
Tom Daley ended his long wait for an Olympic gold medal with a sublime display alongside Matty Lee in a nerve-filled men's synchronised 10m platform event at Tokyo 2020.
In a nail-biting finale, the British pair watched on as Cao Yuan and Chen Aisen conducted their final dive and broke into wild celebrations when it became clear they had ended China's golden grip on the event, dating back to 2000.
For Daley - now 27 - it marks a first gold medal at his fourth Olympic Games and he wept with joy on the podium, while Lee - four years his junior - can contemplate gold at the first time of asking.
"I still can't honestly believe what is happening," Daley told BBC Sport. "That moment, being about to be announced as Olympic champions, I was gone. I was blubbering."
The pair dived impeccably throughout, moving top of the leaderboard after four dives, before going on to expertly handle nerves and pressure in their final two routines.
The British duo's total score of 471.81 left China's Cao and Chen with too much to do and when their tally of 470.58 appeared on the giant screen, Daley, Lee, their coaches and a score of team-mates could not hide their emotions.
Mountain biking.
Tom Pidcock won Great Britain's third Olympic gold on Monday with a hugely impressive and dominant performance in the men's mountain bike cross-country race in Tokyo.
The 21-year-old from Leeds moved to the front midway through and never let go of the lead as he finished ahead of Swiss world number one Mathias Flueckiger and David Valero of Spain to take Britain's first gold in the sport.
Pidcock prepared for Tokyo's soaring temperatures by training in a heated tent at home and that paid off as he handled the punishing course and conditions far better than the field, finishing 20 seconds clear.
Such was his dominance that Pidcock was able to unfurl a union jack and wave it as he crossed the finish line.
When asked how it felt to win gold, Pidcock told Eurosport: "Not real really.
"It's pretty crazy that I became an Olympian and I was trying to tell myself at the start of the race it's special just to be here."
His gold follows those won on Monday by Adam Peaty in 100m breaststroke and Tom Daley and Matty Lee in men's synchronised 10m platform.
Pidcock's win comes two months after he broke his collarbone while training. Despite needing surgery, the Yorkshireman was determined to be fit for the Olympics and was back on his bike just six days later, confidently declaring that he would win in Tokyo.
That self-assurance was ultimately well placed as he added an Olympic title to a long and diverse list of accolades, having won world titles in cyclo-cross, road and mountain bike events at under-23 level.
"I haven't done a good race since [the injury]," Pidcock added. "I've trained really hard, I knew I was in great shape but there's always doubt when I haven't performed in a race.
"But once the race started, I knew I was in a good place. The heat, I mean, obviously I didn't feel good but everyone just told me no-one will feel good."
Pidcock takes mountain biking gold
Great Britain's Tom Pidcock claims Olympic gold with a dominant display in the men's mountain bike cross-country in Tokyo.
www.bbc.co.uk
) 10 am in Tokyo Olympics. #Mahoor_shahzad #Olympics2020
